Protesters outline plans for coming G8 meeting

OTTAWA - G8 and G20 meetings and protesters go together like ice-cream and pie.

And Monday's G8 Foreign Minister's meeting in Gatineau will be no different, with protesters outlining their plans Thursday.

Dylan Penner, a spokesman with the Council of Canadians, said they protest the global economic leaders' meetings whenever they can because it's a "fundamentally undemocratic institution" that is a "barrier" to social, economic, and environmental "justice."

The protest, outside the Chateau Cartier in Gatineau, will kick-off a whole year marked by demonstrations as G8 and G20 summits are planned in Huntsville and Toronto this summer.

While anti-globalization protests have occasionally turned violent - even deadly - Penner said Monday's is expected to be "family-friendly."

But Christine Jones, co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance, said violence at many rallies isn't instigated by the protesters, but rather the government - by embedding "agents provocateurs" amongst the protesters - trying to "criminalize" the movement.

At the North American Leaders Conference in Montebello, Que. in 2007, the Quebec Provincial Police later admitted it had three undercover officers dressed as protesters, complete with bandanas covering their faces. They denied they were there to incite violence.

Penner said before large protests get underway in Huntsville and Toronto, he wants the government to promise it won't do that again.